On the eve of the global pandemic, we squeezed in a week of naive bliss. A week of sibling symphonies, of entertainment, of fun. My sister planned her spring break to visit me from her university in Texas, and luckily we found a reasonably priced ticket for her across the Atlantic. The anticipation accumulated until I met her at the airport and we embraced.
I hadn’t seen Sydney in nearly 7 months, the longest we had been a part in the 20 or so years of our existence as sisters. With modern technology, we’ve been fortunate to stay in 
consistent communication, so I would know the various ongoings of her life, and she would know mine. Though there is something special about being able to sit next to someone you care about, to exist with them in real-life. There are subtle touches shared, an unspoken joy in doing the minute details of life together.
Her trip here had two components; the first 3 days were spent in Dublin, and the remaining 3 were spent in London. I would get to show Sydney around my life here and then we would explore a new city together. Once living through our plans, I found that our time together effortlessly flowed. We were never pushed to the next activity, but we were never bored. We giggled at goofy things and ate delicious food. We immersed, conversed, and traversed.
When someone comes to visit you, you gain an excuse to do all of the really touristy things. So we found ourselves walking across the Ha’penny bridge, meandering around Dublin Castle, taking the Guinness tour, walking through St. Stephen’s Green, eating treats at 
Bewley’s cafe. I dragged her to Howth, as I wanted to share with her the beauty of Ireland, the majestic cliffs with vast green pastures. Though we found ourselves in classic Irish weather, with a cascade of grey surrounding everything, wind, and rain. It was as if we were walking through a pressurized underwater cold spa, with water coming at us from all angles. We emerged from the trail, soaking, defeated and it took us several hours to return to normal human temperature. In the evenings we unwinded with slightly less touristy activities, with friends at Bruxelles, at a stand-up comedy show at Whelan’s, and with a Drag Queen performance at the George.
Once in London, we walked by the big tourist sites, but also tried to seek out some places that were less mainstream. We went to Buckingham Palace, Leicester Square, the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Bridge, Shore-ditch and Brick lane. Okay we mostly 
did the really touristy things. Being in London was a new experience for both of us, and we enjoyed meandering around, finding tasty meals, zooming through the underground, and gawking at our surroundings. We even saw a show in the West End. Laughing to The Book of Mormon was a perfect activity to cap off a perfect week together.
Another treat was getting to see our other sibling, Sean, our exchange student brother from Finland, who now lives in Denmark. He was in London with his girlfriend, Elisabeth, who we also got to meet. We spent the day with them at the Borough food market, shivering in a coffee shop and wandering around the Tate. We caught up, sharing a glimpse into what our current life looks like. A life that looks vastly different from when we lived together in quaint Golden 6 years ago.
Siblings are treasured. They are people that by pure accident of birth landed in your life, for
life. Though no two life experiences can be exactly the same, they understand the context of a shared upbringing better than anyone else probably. There are dynamics that would be essentially unexplainable to someone outside of the nuclear family, but a simple look or a certain saying can communicate more in seconds than what could last hours explaining to someone else. Though it is also true that each siblings bond is unique; unique to the experiences they’ve shared and the support they show. My sister and I are close. We’ve endured collective difficulties and individual ones as well. My sister has seen or been with me through every adversity I’ve experienced thus far. I am immensely grateful for her, and her place in my life.
One of our activities together was to get tattoos to represent our relationship. Rivers and roads. This is the title of a song by The Head and the Heart. It’s a song about 
impermanence and people moving in and out of our lives. This song has been a constant source of comfort for the two of us as we have lived apart for the past 5 years. Rivers are always flowing, an ever-changing and constant source of energy. A dear friend once wrote to me, detailing the strength of rivers. “Rivers are strong enough to carve canyons, breakthrough dams, and rush over boulders. Be a river Sam.” While roads connect across vast distances. Winding along, they meander and provide the essential service to lead us back to each other. So I got a symbol of these powerful forces on my side, while Sydney got this sweet saying in our handwriting on her foot. We are permanently inked together.
As I write this post well into my quarantine due to the global pandemic, it feels like a crazy dream that we actually got to share this experience. This trip was taken at the very last possible moment it probably could have been taken with the current context. In this era of social distancing, lockdowns and isolating, imagining what it was like to explore a new city, to walk further than 2 kilometers from my home, or even share a meal in a restaurant seem like distant memories of the past. I hope that again soon we can spend time with treasured people in novel places.
